IoT Newsflash No. 03/2018

The third part of the IoT Newsflash series illuminates the possibilities of IoT in the healthcare industry and thereby provides an overview over the most recent publications of renowned research institutes.

The adoption of the Internet of Things is speeding up across all industries. Therefore, the third IoT Newsflash picks and covers insights and use cases from the healthcare industry.

Here, the impact of IoT solutions comprises not only the improvement of the patient’s experience, but also even the improvement of the health of populations and a reduction of the per capita cost of healthcare. Ranging from strategy topics to concrete market insights for a determined device renowned researchers sum up the evolvement of the so called medtech within their most recent studies:

Deloitte’s study Devices And Diseases: How The IoT Is Transforming Medtech enlightens how IoT technology opens the door to business models in which the devices themselves are not the most valuable piece of the puzzle. In other words, the value provided by the technology can be expanded by embedding it in a more inclusive ecosystem. Providing a framework called the “Information Value Loop”, the study provides recommendations and guiding principles that allow well-established health care players to navigate the turbulent waters of the fast-changing, IoT enhanced medtech market.

In a more detailed and less abstract way, Gartner’s Market Insight(2018) on wearables in healthcare ecosystems predicts a gain of momentum in 2018. Wearables sales topped 155 million units in the past two years. Jumping on this bandwagon, 40 % of large health systems will shift form digital health pilot programs to full-scale rollouts in 2020, compared to 5 % in 2017. Giving concrete best practices, the study concludes, that AI and voice technology will be the most important drivers for accessibility and ease of use of wearables. Furthermore, B2B channel development and the increased acceptance of patient-generated data from wearables in healthcare communities boosts and interconnects the medtech market.

Forrester’s study Virtual Care Enables the Digital Health Imperative (2018) outlines, that virtual care is about to disrupt today’s outpatient visit. A variety of healthcare players is already increasing its investments in new virtual care solutions, realizing that healthcare delivery is shifting from the hospital to home. Another key takeaway of the study is that healthcare organizations, which have consistently failed to deliver high-quality patient care will have to consider crucially the upcoming virtual care solutions. These virtual care solutions are hosted by a multitude of new and established vendors. The following figure gives a broad overview over the relevant players focusing of the different virtual care solutions provided.